"Distraction"- Disgusting

[trof]

I'd seen promos for this "game" show. Contestants wired up and given electric shocks while trying to answer questions. Winner gets a new car or something.
Unbelievable.

Yesterday I'm channel surfing and see Distraction is about to start on the Comedy Central. I decide to watch.

The contestants are instructed to step into toilet stalls, drop trou, and sit.
One woman laughs nervously and asks if they're kidding.
No, they are not.
There are translucent swinging doors on the stalls from about shin high to (seated) shoulder high. You can't actually see any naughty bits, just a sillouette.

Here's the deal: To earn the right to answer a question, you must first urinate. A sensor in the toilet will light a bulb over your booth when it detects urine.
I am not making this up.

First one to urinate gets to answer the question. Whoever gets the most right answers wins a new car.
The emcee makes with various lame pee-pee toilet humor "jokes".
One poor bastard totally locks up (I really can't blame him) and can't go at all. Loser.

In 1961 Newton Minow was appointed FCC chairman by John F. Kennedy. In May of that year he gave a speech to the National Association of Broadcasters. It was the famous "wasteland" speech.

"But when television is bad, nothing is worse. I invite you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there without a book, magazine, newspaper, profit and loss sheet or rating book to distract you -- and keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that you will observe a vast wasteland.

You will see a procession of game shows, violence, audience participation shows, formula comedies about totally unbelievable families, blood and thunder, mayhem, violence, sadism, murder, western bad men, western good men, private eyes, gangsters, more violence, and cartoons. And, endlessly, commercials -- many screaming, cajoling, and offending. And most of all, boredom. True, you will see a few things you will enjoy. But they will be very, very few. And if you think I exaggerate, try it."
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/newtonminow.htm

I wonder what ol' Newton would have to say today?
Is it any wonder that Bush was re-elected?
:-(

[MADem]

1. Pick up the remote

...and change the channel!

You will feel SO MUCH BETTER!

[trof]

8. Not the point at all.

And once I got the jist of the schtik I did.
Once and a while you have to get out there and see what's going on.
If this is funny at all, it's somewhere around a third grade level. I assume there are a lot of adults watching this kind of crap.

[Skittles]

2. don't worry, plenty of people will find it entertaining - even some DUers

this is the kind of shit they will try to feed us, thanks to the popularity of "Reality TV". Changing the channel is no longer enough since I catch this sickening stuff while channel surfing. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[trof]

13. Sadly, you're right.

oh well...

[democracyindanger]

3. "Distraction" - Hilarious

[Tux]

4. No

[Vincardog]

5. the nice thing is you can change the channel

If you don't like it change to something else

[Skittles]

9. please see post #2

:puke:

[Vincardog]

16. OK then turn the damn thing off. Try reading

[Skittles]

26. I sleep 3 - 4 hours a day

believe me I do a LOT of reading

[Stop_the_War]

6. They did that? That's just plain disgusting....

[Renew Deal]

7. Great post. Great show.

I saw that episode. I really like the show. It's funny. Some sex and toilet humor with a pretty easy game show kick. I like it.

[beyurslf]

10. Get rid of cable. I did and never miss it.

[trof]

11. My new dish.

Our old cable didn't even have CC.
It's worth it just for the Daily Show.

[K-W]

12. Yah conservatives love edgy tv humor?!

Distraction is a funny show, if you dont like it don't watch it.

As far as your political connections to it that is rediculous. Its just comedy. Sheesh.

[bloom]

14. there is a lot of stuff

I don't want to watch.


Sometimes it can be useful just to know, though.

[KissMeKate]

15. this is what the FCC should be regulating.

god, our priorities are so fucked up.

[mattclearing]

31. I don't want the FCC regulating obscenity at all.

Obscenity laws are are of dubious moral value, and an affront to free speech.

Democracy and capitalism ensure that if the show isn't worth watching, it will be gone before long.

Television is a waste of time for the most part though. I watch maybe an hour of tv a day.

There's a whole world out there outside of the idiot box, people.

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[trof]

18. Many thanks for your cogent comment.

I haven't been in GD for a while. I keep reading about what's happening in here over in the lounge and now I understand what they're talking about.
I will spare you any further indignation.
Enjoy your society.

[Mojambo]

19. Surely you realize that there is nothing wrong with that show

that can't be solved by turning it off, right?

Censorship gets up my craw, I won't apologize for it.

[Skittles]

29. again, not the point

obviously a TV can be turned off but that does not address the larger issue - why people willingly humiliate themselves on national TV and why a great many people find such humiliation and discomfort ENTERTAINING. It is very disturbing.

[Mojambo]

32. You find it disturbing.

Not everyone else does.

Adults can make their own determination about what they find humiliating or degrading. You're welcome to an opinion, but just remember that's all you get.

[DrWeird]

20. Don't like it, don't watch it.

This sort of thing was done in Europe years and years ago. It's all a part of the "let's rip-off European game shows craze."

If you want to complain, complain about the lack of novelty.

[DrWeird]

21. You do realize, this is what people say about Spongebob, right?

Downfall of society, no decency, yada yada yada.

[SmokingJacket]

36. But Spongebob is clever!

This stuff is just boring and sad.

But feel free to watch it!

I'm not stopping anyone.

[arwalden]

22. The Promos Are Very Disturbing...

I agree with you!

[terrya]

23. This is programming at the VERY lowest denominator.

I've had the misfortune to actually tune in to this show...it's moronic, tasteless and a complete waste of time. Idiotic to the extreme.

[MissMarple]

24. Isn't America great! We can watch our culture devolve

to it's lowest level and think it's hilarious. No wonder some people think torture is perfectly acceptable, and news programs turned propaganda outlets are actually desirable. I agree with Trof.

"Just turn the channel" is so beside the point. The degradation of the Roman circus presaged loss of empire. I think the same goes for us. Bawdy Elizabethan humor aside, I think we've reached new lows in the entertainment industry. It's just an observation, and I don't watch those programs, so don't suggest I just not view them. I don't.

But, hey, go on ahead. :eyes:

[trof]

25. Thanks. It's nice to be understood.

Caught a lot of flack about censorship, which I did not imply and am not in favor of.
It's the dumbing down of America that concenrs me.

[Shredr]

27. Sounds like "Your Money or Your Life"

The fake gameshow from Teryy Gilliam's film TIME BANDITS.

[Solar]

28. The show has its good moments

I'd probably have some better ways to distract people, but the show is alright. I'll watch it if nothing else is on.

[Orsino]

30. It was fun for five or ten minutes...

...but as with Weakest Link, the gimmick rapidly wore thin. the host's thigh-rubbing little quips were enjoyable for about as long as were Anne Whatzername's carefully-scripted insults.

The media know that what we love more than anything is minding each other's business--or watching each other fail. Since they don't dare take on the miscreants with real power, we are distracted by Michael Jackson trials and reality shows in which ordinary citizens are pitted against each other. And the real bad guys laugh as we continue to watch.

[Mojambo]

33. You know you can do both, right

Just because a person enjoys watching this shit doesn't mean they are unaware of the greater evils being pushed from the shadows.

Bad television doesn't make an intelligent person ignorant, but it can make an already ignorant person hopelessly ignorant.

[maveric]

34. How soon before we have "The Running Man"?

Reality shows where good Xtian warriors hunt down and kill all non-beleiving infidels?
Steven King, like Orwell, might be right on with his predictions of the future.

[oasis]

35. "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" was too challenging for American dunces.

This new dumbed down stuff makes participation more accessible for them.

Yes. No wonder Bush is still in the White House.

:dunce: x 59 million.